Last year, I was near the very end of one of my go-to, after-work mountain bike rides in Crested Butte — I was past all the technical parts of the ride, and I was literally just riding out the trail to the road. But before I knew what was happening, I had slammed into the ground. I couldn’t breathe, I was dazed and confused, and I thought I had dislocated my shoulder. I pulled myself off to the side of the trail, laid there, tried to catch my breath, and tried to get a handle on the pain.
Two guys rolled up on their bikes and asked if I was okay. I managed to reply, “Not really.” I had a pretty good concussion and a badly cracked helmet, and I told the guys I was just going to get myself collected and ride back to my house. Since they were thinking much clearer than I was at the point, they said, “Seems like you really ought to go to the hospital.”
My former self would have told the guys that I was fine. (For evidence of this, listen to this Blister Podcast episode – “A (aka, MY) Nearly Fatal Birthday in the Backcountry.”
So I called my friend, Sydney, who I knew happened to be in the area. She drove me to the emergency room, where they ran a number of tests, took x-ray and MRI images — but didn’t perform any surgeries or give me stitches or put me in a cast or anything like that. They just ran tests. And those tests revealed that I had broken four ribs (#2 – 5), and tore all the ligaments in my shoulder. (But again, there were no expensive surgeries or treatments, just tests. They sent me home and told me to rest up.)
I got a bill from that hospital visit for $12,894.70.
And even with my expensive monthly insurance (I pay $563.31 a month), I still had to pay about $8,000 out of my own pocket to meet my deductible. WTF.
And this put me on a crusade to find a better way.
I had recently heard something about a thing called “Spot Insurance.” I looked into it, and realized that, if I had had Spot insurance, my mountain bike crash and hospital visit would have cost me exactly ZERO dollars — as opposed to the $8000 I had to pay — in addition to my monthly health insurance premium of $563.31 a month.
So I contacted Spot, met up with Spot founder, Matt Randall, and we got to work on partnering with Spot to create the BLISTER+ Membership.
There is more information on the details of this new membership here. But the bottom line is this:
Most people coming to Blister or listening to our various podcasts need to get this coverage. So that probably includes you.
Because if you are listening to our podcasts or reading our reviews, it means that you’re playing or working or competing outside, and injuries are inevitable.
And I have seen far too many friends and people in our outdoor community get injured, then get stuck with large medical bills that they can’t afford to pay.
Or perhaps worse, we get hurt and then don’t go get medical attention because we can’t afford the cost of medical attention. And that lack of medical attention can lead to terrible, lifelong consequences.
Folks, if you were ever going to do just one thing that I asked of you, it would be this:
Please read the following, then please — before you head out to ski, or snowboard, or mountain bike, or do any of the activities below — please sign up and get yourself covered now.
Don’t be like me, get wrecked, have to pay $8,000 or $10,000 or $20,000 for an injury, and then sign up for this BLISTER+ Membership that will cover $25,000 of injury expenses — every time you get injured — with zero deductible.
I fully believe that our BLISTER+ Membership is going to change the lives of people in our communities for the better. We no longer will have reason to forego medical treatment for our injuries, and we no longer will get saddled with medical bills that most of us can’t afford to pay.
So please sign up, get yourself covered, tell your friends to get themselves covered, and then let’s get back out there and go have the time of our lives.
Jonathan Ellsworth
Founder / Editor-in-Chief, BLISTER